Improvement in cannon



J. A TERRELL. Breech-Loading Ordnance.

' Patented Dec. 29, 1868.

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JOHN A. TERRELL, or BLOOMFIELD, KENTUCKY.

Lcttco s Patent No. 85,491, dated December 29, I868.

- IMPROVEMENT IN CANNON.

The Schedule referred to inthe se Letters Patent and making part of thename.

Be it known that I, J our? A. TERRELL, of Bloomfield, in the' county ofNelson, and State of Kentucky, have inventeda new and useful Improvementin Cannon; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexeddrawing, making part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a gun having my improvements applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal'section, showing the non-peiforatedbarrel or core of the gun; and

It also consistsin various other improvements, which will be fullydescribed hereafter.

A is the frame, upon which the gun is mounted, which may be of wood oriron, and of any suitable construction, but which, as it forms no partof my present invention, need not be morenarticularly described here.

' B is the reinforce, having the perforations b formed in it, they beingarranged in rows which extend the entire length of that portion of thereiuforce'which covhas the core or barrel of the gun, These aperturesare arranged in rows, longitudinally, as above stated, but they are sosituated relative to each other, that a line drawn vertically throughany one perforation, will pass through the solid metal between-theadjoining-rows. The form which I believe to be the best for theseapertures is that of a truncated cone, with its base pointing outwards.These apertures are best formed by having cores set in the mould whenthe gun is being cast, as they thus relieve much of the strain whichwould otherwise be put upon it while cooling; they may, however,be-bored through the gun, after it has been turned and bored to receiveits core. The diameter of the inner portions of these apertures shouldbe about equal to the thicknessof the metal which coinposes the wall ofthe core or barrel of the gun. These proportions may be slightly varied,however, without materially affecting the result; the object of suchperforations being to permit the radiation of the heat caused by theburning powder and the friction of the outgoing shot. The trunnions ofthis gun are also to be made hollow, to prevent any accumulation of heatat those points, and to afford fiuther facilities for radiation. To therear end of the perforated portion of the reinforce is cast, orotherwise secured, a slotted breech-piece, which is of equal diameter,ex-

ternally, with the reinforce at the pointof junction. Through thisbreech-piece there is formeda vertical slot,.the width of which issuificient to receive the hinged breech-plate D, and also the hingednut'E, its

length being such as to permit the breech-plate and 'nut to swing down.when released from the control of the screw, as will bemore fullydescribed hereafter. This breech-piece is also provided withprojections, as shown at G and G, in fig. 1; the purpose of those shownat G, being to receive the bolt 0, which forms the hinge upon which thebreech-plate turns, while those shown at G serve the same purpose withreference 'to the bolt 41, upon which the nut E is hinged,

.they also serving the further purpose of resting-points for the headsof the elevating-screws F F.

O is the non-perforated core or lining, which forms, with its perforatedreinforce, the barrel of the gun.

It is composed of a cylinder, of brass, iron, steel, or

any other suitable metal, brass or bronze being preferred, and is boredperfectly true and smooth on its interior surface, in the usual manner,and may be rifled or not, as preferred, but in any event, it is to befinished with sufiicient accuracy to give the required. regularity ofsurface for the passage of the shot.

off parallel thereto, until-the thickness of the wall orinetalsun'ounding the aperture for the shot is equal, or about equal, toone-fourth the diameter of the. bore or aperture therein, when it isinserted into the perforated reinforce, it having been previously, boredto receive it, and heated so as to be properly expanded, and so that asit cools,- itwill shrink firmly upon said cylinder. It will be observedthat this cylinder is open at bothends, which permits of a free passageof air through it, when the breech-plate is turned down, and alsopermits of its being cleaned 0r swabbed from the rear end, which willbefound to be-a great convenience at certain times, as, for instance, whenthe gun is placed within the turret of a monitor, or in any otherposition where it would necessitate the. movement thereof-to gain accessto its front end.

Dis a breech-plate, which is hinged to the walls of the slot formed inthe breech-piece, the bolt upon which it turns, passing through saidwalls, and through projections G, formed thereon, said bolt passingthrough the lowerportion'of such plate, so that it may swing throughsuch slot, and drop vdown, as shown in figs. 2 and 4, so as-to leaveafree passage for inserting the charge, and also for swabbing orcleaning the gun. This plate is dressed smooth upon. its inner face, andwhen placed in the position shown in fig. 1, formsa tight joint byleaning against the rear end of the reinforce and the enclosed cylinder.

E is a swinging nut, secured to thewalls of the slot, and theprojections G formed thereon, in. the same manner as is the hinged plateabove described, it

The internal diameter of this cylinder having. been established, theexterior surface thereof is turned being located near the rear end ofthe slot formed in the breech-piece, and arranged to swing freelythrough and out at the bottom thereof, so that when dropped down to theposition shown in fig. 2-, it, with its screw H, will project below saidbreech-piece, but when in the position shown in fig. 1, it will bearagainst the stops e f,.which constitute the rear'end of the slot abovereferred to. 'It will be seen that when the breech-plate D and the nut Eare in the position shown in fig. 1, if the screw H is inserted in thenut,

and turned in, so as to press firmly upon the breech plate, it will holdit in tight contact with the barrel of the gun, thus preventing theescape of any gas which may be generated therein, and at the same time,the nut will be pressed against the stops 6 and j, but upon giving thescrew H a few turns backward, both the nut and the plate will beliberated, and both will fall'down to the position shown in fig. 2, bywhich means a free passage is formed for the insertion of the swab forcleaning the barrel.

F F are the elevating-screws, which pass through a bar of metal, whichextends from one side of the frame to the other,.and has its hearings ineach, it being so arranged as to turn upon such bearings. Through holesformed in this revolving bar, the screws F F pass, they being ofdifferent lengths,-as shown infig. 1, so as to afi'ord the means ofgiving the gun any desired amount of depression or elevation G G areprojections formed upon the slotted portion I of the gun, their oflicehaving been previously-described.

H is the set-screw, already referred to, which holds the breech-plate inposition, which screw should be of suflicient sizeto receive any strainwhich maybe thrown upon it.

I is a device for exploding the charge, when metallic cartridges areused, which consists of a bolt, having a slot formed therein, near itsouter end,-for the reception of a pin which passes through it, for thepurpose of holdirw it in position when not in use.

This bolt has upon its outer end, a head or collar, sufficiently largeto receive the blow from a hammer or look placed upon the gun, and it isinserted into the swinging breech-piece, at such an angle as to bringits lower end to the inner surface thereof, at its centre, so that whenthe blow is given, the charge will Le ignited at its centre.

Through the upper portion of this bolt a hole is bored, and a pin isinserted, which rests upon a spiral spring, which is placed around saidbolt, below such pin, and which serves to withdraw the bolt after ithasbeen forced down against the cartridge.

Should it become desirable to use the bag-cartridge, the bolt abovedescribed may-be withdrawn, and powder used in its stead, which may beignited with a match. or in any convenient manner.

The manneroi' arranging the above-described device, is clearly shown infigs. 1 and 5 of the drawings, and on an enlarged scale at I and K.

Some of the advantages which are incident to and which are expected toresult from my improvements, are-'- First, great facility fortheradiation and escape of the heat caused by the burning-powder, andfriction of the outgoing shot, such heat, in guns of usual construction,being regarded as one of the principal causes of their explosion.

, Secondly, by arranging the apertures as described, and casting them inthe reinforce, the casting is relieved of much of the lateral as well asthe longitudinal strain which would otherwise be put upon it, from itsfirst cooling after having been cast, as well as from constantvariations of temperature while in use.

.Thi'rd, the swinging breech-piece and nut afford great facilities forcharging the gun, and for cleaning the same, without any change of itsposition, the slot in the extreme rear end thereof, through which thescrew H passes, being of ample size to permit the passage of the handleof the swab.

Fourth, the combining of the igniting-device with the swingingbreech-plate prevents any deteriorationof the barrel at the point wheresuch apparatus is usually applied.

Fifth, the arrangement of the elevating and depressing-screws afi'ordsincreased facilities for arranging the gun, as they may at any time beturned so as to give the same its greatest possible amount of elevationor -depression,.without the lapscof-time which would be necessary wereonly one-screw used.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-- a 1. A perforated reinforce for. guns,substantially as shown and described.

. 2. The combination of the hinged breech-piece D, hinged nut E, andset-screw H, substantially as shown and describe 3. The arrangement ofthe elevating-screws F F, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- JOHN A. TERRELL. Witnesses:

EDM. F. Brawn, D. P.-' HOLLOWAY.

